How Businesses Can Reduce Employee Travel Expenses

The necessity to travel as part of their job is becoming a more regular occurrence for workers lives all over the country. In fact, according to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics, the number of visits abroad for the purpose of business grew from 7.9 million in 2013 to 8.3 million in 2014. Not only that, but expenditure during these visits also increased. If your business employs many frequent travelers, here’s how you can start to reduce the cost.

Evaluating corporate Culture

One factor that is seldom mentioned, yet actually plays a large role, is corporate culture. Do you have a history of booking with premium flight services and staying in comparatively expensive hotels?

While reducing your travel expenses isn’t simply about choosing the cheapest option every time, you may find that you have been limiting your options in the past and that there are a number of other flight and accommodation options that meet your requirements for reliability and security.

Finding the right discounts

After deciding how you want to travel, you can start to look for the appropriate discounts. Often times, the only way to know for sure if an airline offers any kind of corporate discount is to contact them directly, as price comparison sites don’t always include this information.

Many providers also offer reward programs where individuals can gain points for the number of miles travelled. These points can then be exchanged for future flights, holidays, or hotel bookings.

Dealing with travel agencies

One of the first things any small business owner must learn is that they can’t do everything by themselves. Delegating responsibility and depending on other companies to help you accomplish your goals is a part of the job.

This may also be in the form of seeking advice from industry specialists when necessary. Many travel agencies look to partner with certain airlines where they can pass savings onto their customers in exchange for recommending customers to their service.

Working with business travel managers

Finally, business travel managers like Statesman Travel can help you plan out trips from scratch, taking into account any possible savings from the beginning. Simply booking in advance is often the best way to save money on travel expenses.

However, when you have a business to run, low-priority jobs can naturally fall by the wayside in favour of tasks that need completing immediately. With a business travel manager on your side, though, it will be their job to make sure the plans are put in place as soon as possible so that you can take advantage of the most benefits.

Founding Editor @Alltopstartups, Columnist @Inc. Magazine and Curator at Postanly (his free weekly digest of the best life and career improvement posts on the web). Subscribe for free. Check out his books on Amazon.